Carrying case for headphones

ABSTRACT

A carrying case for headphones includes first and second opposed shell shaped, molded plastic case members hinged along one side and connected on the opposite side by means of magnetic material. Overlapping peripheral walls of the case members and projecting tabs facilitate separation of the magnetically closed case.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In a principal aspect the present invention relates to a carrying case for audio headphones.

The use of headphones by audiophiles is a well known expedient. Headphones are used in many commercial and other environments. For example, headphones are used in recording studios, in retail outlets for sampling audio recorded products and for recreational listening. Headphones have been used by travelers and by persons who are walking, bicycling, or otherwise moving about with some type of audio playing device.

Headphones come in various types and sizes. They may be as simple as earplugs which fit into the channels of the ear of the listener. Alternatively, more sophisticated headphones include ear covers with speakers that fit over the ears and are connected by a bridging section that fits over the top of the head of the user. Headphones are often used in work environments.

A version of headphones incorporates circuitry designed to eliminate background noise and enhance the listening experience. The growth of the use of headphones thus has prompted the development of carrying cases for such headphones. A carrying case is desirable to protect a headphone when it is not in use and to protect the wires and other component parts of a headphone not in use. Thus, there has developed a need for improved carrying cases for headphones which are compact, yet rugged and serviceable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly, the present invention comprises a carrying case for headphones which includes a lower molded polymeric shell and an upper molded polymeric shell hinged to the lower shell so that the shells may be folded about the hinge to enclose a headphone storage space between the shells. Within that space, a headphone, along with lead wires and a bridging section, may be placed safely and conveniently. Each shell preferably includes an upstanding, generally straight wall section of a peripheral, outer wall surrounding a recess. The straight wall is joined to generally arcuate side walls and an arcuate front wall. The front wall includes a land with a magnetic material recessed in the land. The case members or the shells are substantially mirror images of one another, however, the upper or top case member or shell preferably includes a peripheral wall which overlaps the lower wall, at least in part. The lands which include the recessed magnetic material are aligned and provide a means for maintaining the case in a closed position. Outwardly projecting tabs in the arcuate front wall may be engaged manually and twisted or torqued to open the closed case by overcoming the force of the magnetic material which holds the case members or shells in a closed position. The interior of the case is designed to receive a set of headphones and to slightly compress those headphones in order to retain them snuggly in a safe condition within the case. Additionally, the interior of one of the case members includes at least one molded socket retaining pocket for a lead wire pin connector. Headphones typically include a lead wire with a single pin connector to connect the headphone with an audio output source. However, various types of audio outputs are available and thus it is appropriate to store a pin connection adapter within the carrying case. The carrying case shell members or case members are typically made from a molded plastic or polymeric material and thus are generally rigid. Preferably, at least one of the outer surfaces of the carrying case is planar or generally flat.

Thus, it is an object of the invention to provide an improved carrying case for a headphone.

Another object of the invention is to provide a carrying case for a headphone which is rugged, economical, easily adaptable to store various types and sizes of headphones, and which is easy to use.

Another object of the invention is to provide a carrying case for headphones which is lightweight and which includes an interior fabricated to avoid abrading or damaging a headphone which is stored within the case.

Another object of the invention is to provide a headphone with a hinge connection that enables a bottom and top shell shaped case member to be opened and which further includes a magnetic material closure mechanism wherein the magnetic material is maintained flush with a peripheral wall associated with each of the upper and lower case members so that the peripheral edges of the case member will not catch or damage any of the component parts of the headphone.

These and other objects, advantages and features of the invention will be set forth in the detailed description which follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

In the detailed description which follows, reference will be made to the drawing comprised of the following figures:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of an embodiment of the carrying case of the invention in the closed or storage position;

FIG. 2 is an isometric view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 depicting the carrying case in the open position;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the carrying case of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the carrying case depicted in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a side elevation of the carrying case of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross sectional view of a side section of the carrying case of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a front elevation of the carrying case of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a side cross sectional view of the carrying case depicted in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is an isometric view of the carrying case of FIG. 1 as depicted from the underside or lower side thereof;

FIG. 10 is an isometric cross sectional view of a side of the carrying case of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is an isometric view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 as viewed from the underside of the embodiment;

FIG. 12 is a side elevation of the embodiment of FIG. 1 depicting the vertical height of the case in the closed condition;

FIG. 13 is a side elevation of a typical headphone indicating the vertical height thereof and indicating the feature of compressibility thereof when placed within a case as depicted in FIG. 12; and

FIG. 14 is a plan view of the headphone of FIG. 13.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The figures depict an embodiment of the carrying case of the invention. In the embodiment depicted, the carrying case includes a first or lower shell 20 and a second or upper shell 22. The shells 20 and 22 are generally mirror images of one another, but do have variations in detail. Thus, referring to FIG. 2, the first or lower shell 20 includes a peripheral wall 24 surrounding a molded recess or interior 26. The wall 24 includes a hinge section 28 which is a generally straight line section 26 adapted to cooperate with one or more hinge members 30. Typically, each hinge member 30 is an over center acting hinge which maintains the case in a closed condition such as depicted in FIG. 1 or an open condition as depicted in FIG. 2.

The peripheral wall 24 further includes a generally arcuate front wall section 32, a first side wall section 34 and an opposite, second side wall section 36. The side wall sections 34 and 36 are generally arcuate and extend from the generally straight line, hinge wall section 28 to connect with the generally arcuate front wall section 32. The top surface 38 of wall 24 is flat. A flat, coplanar land 40 is positioned at the midpoint of the front wall section 32. The land 40 includes magnetic material 42 such as magnets embedded therein flush with the level of the surface 38 forming the wall 24.

The second or upper shell or case member 22 includes a congruent, peripheral wall 50 with a flat surface 52 and an expanded land 54 with recessed magnetic material 56. The peripheral wall 50 of the upper or second shell or case member 22 includes a straight wall section 66 which is attached by the hinge 30 to the straight wall section 28 of the lower case member 20 and opposed arcuate wall sections.

An internal recess section 60 of second shell 22 in combination with the recess section 26 of first shell 20 defines an interior compartment into which headphones, such as headphones 80 in FIG. 13, can be fitted when the case is in the closed condition as depicted in FIG. 12. The interior of the upper case member 22 further includes a molded pocket 64 in recess section 60 adapted to receive a pin connector. That is, typically headphones, such as headphones 80 in FIG. 13, will include a lead wire 82 with a single pin connector 84 at the end of the lead wire 82. The pin connector 84 is designed to fit within a socket of an audio source device. However, many audio source devices require a double pin connector. Thus, the molded section 64 depicted in FIG. 2 can retain a double pin connector adapter which can engage with the single pin connector 84 depicted in FIG. 13 and thereby enable use of the lead wire 82 with a two pin connection. In other words, the case includes features which enable storage of ancillary elements and fixtures associated with a headphone set.

The lower case member 20 and the upper case member 22 are not the exact physical duplications. For example, as depicted in FIGS. 5 and 11 the lower or first case member 20 include a flat bottom surface 21. The upper case member 22 has a bulbous forward end 23 adapted to receive headphones and, more particularly, the ear covers 88 as depicted in FIG. 13. That is, ear covers 88 typically include a molded plastic housing 90 and a peripheral, elastomeric compressible section 92. As depicted in FIG. 14 the headphones also typically include the bridging section 81 connecting first and second cover sections 83 and 85. Each of the cover sections 83 and 85 include compressible material 92. The compressible material 92 is fitted into the case substantially in a manner aligning the ear protectors or covers with the patterns as depicted in FIG. 4; namely, the patterns 33 and 35. The bridging section then fits around a molded retention element 37. The compressibility of the material 92 enables the dimension of the headphones as depicted in FIG. 13 to be compressed and fitted within the closed case as depicted in FIG. 12. Thus, the headphones are held snuggly within the case by virtue of utilizing the compressibility associated with the compressible material 92. Of course, since the lands 38 and 52 are generally flush, the headphones are protected.

As a desirable feature of the construction, however, the surface 52 associated with the second or upper case member 22 overlaps or extends over the edge, at least in part, of the surface 38 associated with the lower case or first case member 20. This feature extends around the side walls and arcuate front wall as depicted in FIGS. 6, 8 and 10. Such overlapping provides an additional means for the user of the case to grip the upper case member 22 and move it in opposition to the magnetic force holding the case members 20 and 22 together for access to the interior thereof.

Another feature of the invention, however, is the inclusion of projecting tabs such as tab 74 for the upper case member 22 and tab 76 for the lower case member 20. The tabs 74, 76 are offset with respect to the center of the arcuate front wall of the respective case members 20 and 22. By applying a twisting motion manually to the tabs 74, 76 the case members 20 and 22 may be separated by overcoming a magnetic force holding those case members 20, 22 together.

Various figures illustrate the case construction. Referring to FIG. 8, the upper case 22 includes a polymeric molded outer layer 77 and an interior cushion layer 79. Similarly, lower case 20 includes a polymeric layer which is a hard shell polymeric material 73 and an interior cushion layer 75. This provides another means for functionally protecting headphones retained within the case.

Various alternative constructions are within the scope of the invention. The invention is to be limited only by the following claims and equivalents thereof. 

1. A carrying case for a headphone, said headphone including a first and a second ear speaker and an arcuate bridge connected to said first and second ear speakers, and further including a speaker lead wire with a plug for attachment to an audio source socket, said plug including a connector pin, said case comprising in combination: a first lower, polymeric, molded case member generally in the form of a shell with a central recess, a peripheral wall extending about the central recess, said wall having a generally straight hinge section, an arcuate front wall section opposite the straight hinge section with first and second arcuate side wall sections connecting the hinge section to the arcuate front wall section and a flat circumferential top edge surface; an inwardly extending land generally at the midpoint of the arcuate front wall section with a magnetic material embedded therein generally flush with the surface of the land, said land and the edge surface of the peripheral wall being generally coplanar, a second, upper, polymeric molded case member comprising a generally mirror image of the first case member, said first and second case members joined by a hinge in the hinge wall sections thereof and maintainable in a closed position by the respective magnetic material with the edge surface of the peripheral walls in generally flush contact, said first and second case members including respectively a first and a second edge projection tab generally off center of the midpoint of the arcuate front wall section, said first and second tabs providing a manual torsion release element; said second case member peripheral edge wall surface at least in part extending peripherally outwardly over the peripheral edge wall surface at least in part of the first case member; and an interior socket molded into the inside wall of a case member for retention of a pin socket adapter.
 2. The case of claim 1 wherein the first case member has a generally flat bottom surface.
 3. The case of claim 1 including a headphone retained within the case.
 4. The case of claim 3 wherein the headphone is in part compressible and said first and second case members compress the headphone within the closed case, and said magnet material retains the case members in the closed position.
 5. The case of claim 1, wherein the second case member peripheral edge surface projects outwardly over the first case member peripheral edge surface along the arcuate wall section and first and second side wall sections of said first case member.
 6. A carrying case for a headphone, said headphone including a first and a second ear cover speaker and an arcuate bridge connected to said first and second ear cover speakers, and further including a speaker lead wire with a plug for attachment to an audio source socket, said plug including a pin connector, said case comprising in combination: a first lower, polymeric, molded case member generally in the form of a shell with a central recess, a peripheral wall extending about the central recess, said wall having a generally straight hinge section, an arcuate front wall section opposite the straight hinge section, first and second arcuate side wall sections connecting the hinge section to the arcuate front wall section, and a flat circumferential top edge surface; an inwardly extending land generally at the midpoint of the arcuate wall section with a magnetic material embedded therein generally flush with the surface of the land, said land and the edge surface of the peripheral wall being generally coplanar, a second, upper polymeric molded case member comprising a generally mirror image of the first case member, said first and second case members joined by a hinge in the hinge wall sections thereof and maintainable in a closed position by the respective magnetic material with the edge surface of the peripheral walls in generally flush contact, said first and second case members each including respectively a first and a second edge projection tab generally off center of the midpoint of the arcuate front wall section, said first and second tabs providing a manual torsion release element; said second case member peripheral edge wall surface extending peripherally along the side wall sections and front wall section outwardly over the peripheral edge wall surface of the first case member.
 7. A carrying case for a headphone, said headphone including a first and a second ear cover speaker and an arcuate bridge connected to said first and second ear cover speakers, and further including a speaker lead wire with a plug for attachment to an audio source socket, said case comprising in combination: a first lower, polymeric molded case member generally in the form of a shell with a central recess, a peripheral wall about the central recess, said wall having a generally straight hinge section, an arcuate front wall section opposite the straight hinge section first and second arcuate side wall sections connecting the hinge section to the arcuate front wall section, and a flat circumferential top edge surface; an inwardly extending land generally at the midpoint of the arcuate front wall section with a magnet embedded therein flush with the surface of the land, said land and the edge surface of the peripheral wall being generally coplanar, a second, upper polymeric molded case member comprising a generally mirror image of the first case member, said first and second case members joined by a hinge in the hinge wall sections thereof and maintainable in a closed position by the respective magnets with the edge surfaces of the peripheral walls in flush contact, said first and second case members each including respectively a first and a second edge projection tab generally off center of the midpoint of the arcuate front wall section, said tabs providing a manual torsion release element; and said second case member peripheral edge wall surface at least in part extending peripherally outwardly over at least in part of the peripheral edge wall surface of the first case. 